


The Hunt For Anakin Skywalker

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: A Second Chance [2]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Dad!Plo, Gen, Kid Fic, doppleganger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-28 15:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11421117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: Confronted with a 5 year old Anakin Skywalker, Plo Koon and Obi-Wan Kenobi must determine where he came from and where the adult Anakin Skywalker could possibly be.





	1. Chapter 1

Kenobi looked over the medical evidence that Koon provided him, then looked at the security images of young Skywalker.  Then he turned to Plo Koon, “What are the chances that this is some weird Force reaction?  I can’t think of any precedence.”

“I am not aware of any possible way this could be an action of the force,” Plo Koon said, “even given what was proposed about Skywalker’s origins.”

Kenobi nodded, “And these chips?”

“My medics are removing them as we speak,” Plo Koon said.

Kenobi nodded, “Would your CMO agree to review the procedure with mine?”

Plo tilted his head, “I would wait until Doctor Val has cleared the medics from the 124th and the 501st before you ask.  I was given the impression that she will be less overwhelmed once that is done.”

“I’ll make arrangements with my people before I approach her,” Kenobi said.  He gestured to the datapad, “You know, if Ani here isn’t actually my former Padawan, then Anakin has to be out there somewhere.”

“The question then is where do we start looking,” Plo replied.

“Well, we have the space station,” Kenobi said, “and we have a large number of clones looking for something to do.  Clearing the station should prevent them from getting into trouble.”

“In my experience, a task does not preclude trouble,” Plo pointed out.

“No, but at least the explosions won’t be on my ship,” Kenobi replied.

Plo wondered just what Kenobi’s men did when left to their own devices.

Plo turned to find Keely standing by, “Captain, get Commander Wolffe up here.”

“Yes sir,”

“Captain,” Kenobi said, “if you would include Cody in that, please?”

“Of course, sir,” Keely replied as he turned away, signaling a member of the bridge crew.

“We’re going to need to keep Ani distracted,” Kenobi said.

“Lodestar and the others will be fine for now,” Plo agreed, “perhaps next, we can arrange for some of the 212th men to take over.”

“I’ll have Waxer and Boil prepare for the task,” Kenobi said after a moment.  “They have a history of being good with children.”

They fell silent, with Kenobi again looking at the datapad and muttering softly.  Plo turned his contemplation to the space station they were about to raid.  It was still the quiet, darkened specter against the stars, holder of many secrets.

“General, you wanted to see us?”  Wolffe asked, followed by Cody and Rex.

“We need to search that station,” Plo said, “with combined teams from the 124th, 212th, and 501st, we’ll be able to do so quickly and thoroughly.”

“The whole thing will be in your hands,” Kenobi said, “we’re going to be working with the boy.”

Plo didn’t look at the other Jedi, he didn’t need the Force to know that Kenobi had already decided that the boy wasn’t his Padawan and therefore was not as important. 

“Perhaps you should make yourself available for the search while I work with Ani,” Plo suggested.  “It may be that he has information he’s not aware of having.”

Kenobi looked at him in surprise, then nodded, “Of course.”

Plo wasn’t going to let that kind of attitude affect Ani, even if he wasn’t Anakin Skywalker, that was still a young, Force sensitive child who had experienced horrible things and didn’t deserve to be dismissed because of who he wasn’t.  But then Plo had almost taken Anakin Skywalker as his own Padawan after Jinn had died, but had not spoken up because of Kenobi’s rabid insistence that he would train him in Jinn’s memory.  This time, Plo would look after the young slave boy that had been found personally.


	2. Chapter 2

Obi-Wan knew Master Koon was upset with him, but Obi-Wan couldn’t help it.  Master Koon was taking on young Ani, to figure out his mystery, and Obi-Wan was going to find his Padawan.  That was his job, he’d promised Qui-Gon Jinn that he’d train Anakin Skywalker, but the commitment to a Padawan was soul deep.  If young Ani was not Anakin Skywalker, then Obi-Wan had to follow his own instincts, which were screaming that Anakin needed him now more than ever.

“Master Koon,” Obi-Wan finally said, tired of feeling that judgmental gaze.  “I trust you to look after young Ani.  I can’t, I’m supposed,” he paused, “Anakin is _my_ Padawan.  If young Ani isn’t my Anakin; then, where is he?  Something in me says that he is in trouble and he needs me.  I’m not dismissing the value of the youngling as a being or whatever knowledge he holds, it’s that I can’t, I need.”

There was the understanding Obi-Wan had hoped for, “I understand, Master Kenobi.  For now, let us continue our split focus, you into the fate of your Padawan, and I into the origin of the boy who is not.  If I am able to discern any information that might aid you in your hunt, I will inform you immediately.”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said.  “I’m sorry my focus is not what it should be.”

Master Koon bowed his head slightly, “Go, see what you can do for Skywalker and I will see to the boy.  I suggest you take control of the 501st in the meantime.”

“Shouldn’t we inform the Council?”  Obi-Wan asked, trying to think of a way to explain this.

“Not at this time,” Master Koon said, “we have too many variables that are uncertain.  We are both council members besides, we have some discretion in our actions.”

Obi-Wan bowed his head slightly, he was far more used to the duties of the Council, not its privileges.  “I’ll admit, I’m not quite sure how to explain this.”

“Then we will simply have to present them with results,” Master Koon said.  “I will go see to young Anakin now, and leave you to your part.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said.  As Master Koon left, Obi-Wan walked over to where the three officers were studying the layout of the station, “Commanders, Captain,” he said.

“General Kenobi.”

“I’m available if you need me,” Obi-Wan said, “Master Koon will be working with Ani.”  He nodded to them, “It’s your operation, I would simply be an asset if you need me.”

“Thank you for letting us know, sir,” Cody said.  “We’re going to start the search in the next hour, we’re just discussing how to do so.”

Obi-Wan bowed and stepped back, glancing over his shoulder to see Plo had already left.

/././.\\.\\.\

Plo found young Anakin in the mess hall with Star Squad.  He had a plate of fruit that he was eating while listening to Comet tell him a story.  “Then the General and the Commander showed up and we all knew everything would be okay.  When the General and the Commander work together, they can take down even the worst bad guys."

“Wow,” Anakin said, eyes wide.

“General Plo,” Lodestar said, catching everyone’s attention.

“Sir,” the clones shot to their feet and saluted, Anakin a beat behind them, slamming a half-eaten piece of meiloorun into his forehead.

“Uh oh,” Anakin said.

Meteor patted his back, “No worry, Bugs.  I’ll get a damp towel from the cook and we’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Have you been having a good time?”  Plo asked, thinking that discretion was the better part of valor in the matter.

“Yes, Gen’ral Plo, sir,” Anakin said.  “Comet’s telling me stories, and I drank Mister Stitch’s drink.  It didn’t taste good, but Mom says we drink what we’re given.”

“And did you have the ice cream?”  Plo asked.

Anakin shrugged, “I didn’t like it.  Made my head hurt.”

Plo glanced at the troopers as Meteor reappeared with the towel.  “We are going to search the station from top to bottom for more information.  General Kenobi will be handling that aspect.  You six are to report to the infirmary while I speak with Anakin.  Doctor Val and Lieutenant Stitch are expecting you.”

The squad saluted and departed quickly, leaving Anakin with Plo.

Seeing that Anakin looked nervous, so Plo settled beside him at the table.  “Feel free to finish eating, Anakin.”

“Would you like some?”  Anakin asked.

“No thank you,” Plo said.  He touched his mask, “I cannot breathe the air that you do, it would make me very sick.  I wear my mask so that I can interact with other people.  I cannot eat or drink with my mask on.  I will have dinner later, in my quarters, where the air is safe for me to breathe.”

“Okay,” Anakin said and bit into the meiloorun slice he’d mashed into his forehead earlier.

“I promised you in the infirmary I would tell you about the Force,” Plo said, he reached out with his senses and let them brush over Anakin.  “The Force is something, an energy, that binds everything together.  Life creates it and helps it grow, but it is always there.  Some people, like you and I, can sense it.”

Anakin wrinkled his nose, “It’s the sun that everyone has.”

“The sun?”  Plo asked.

Anakin pushed his hand against his chest, “Everyone has a sun in their heart.  Some people have big ones and some have little ones.”

“That is how you sense the Force,” Plo said, “to me, it feels more like a storm.  When I reach for it to do something, it is like standing in a gentle spring rain.”

“What does it do?”  Anakin asked.

Plo hesitated, “The Force steers us to balance, good, which we call the Light, and bad, which we call Dark.  Jedi listen to the Light and try to do good in the galaxy.  There are others who listen to the Dark and want to hurt people.  A Jedi works with the Force, it guides them to know things and helps them do things to maintain balance.”

“Like what?”  Anakin asked.

Plo lifted his hand and made one of the round fruits on Anakin’s plate lift in the air.  “This, I do in the Force.”

Anakin looked worried, “Mom said not to do that.”

Plo understood, if a slave master realized they had a Force sensitive child, they would send that child into even worse straits than the usual lot of a child. 

“It wasn’t safe before,” Plo told Anakin, “but now it is.”

“It’s okay to know about people?”  Anakin said, “Sometimes I dream things that come true.”

“Tell me if you have one of those dreams,” Plo said, “they are sent from the Force as a warning.”

“Even the good things?”  Anakin asked.

“Even then,” Plo said.

“Because I had this dream,” Anakin said, “a scary man in black was laughing as he looked at a block of ice.  There was someone in the ice, but I couldn’t see him.”

Plo reached over and carefully ran his talons over Anakin’s hair, brushing some of the shoulder length blond hair behind his ear.  “Thank you for telling me that, Anakin.”  He hesitated a moment, “Sometimes, with permission, a Jedi can see into the mind of another, to learn things.  I would like to see the man in your dream who laughed.”

“Okay,” Anakin said.

“I need you to think very hard about your dream,” Plo told Anakin, “this may feel a little strange.”

“Okay,” Anakin said, frowning in concentration.

Plo gently eased into Anakin’s mind, pleased that he could find the dream so easily.  It was as he’d suspected.  The laughing man was no other than Count Dooku of Serrano.  Plo eased back out of Anakin’s mind gently, thinking about what he’d seen.

“Anakin,” Plo said, “If you ever dream about that man again, you must tell me, or Wolffe immediately.  He is a very bad man, and we are trying to capture him.”

“I’ll tell you,” Anakin said.

Knowing that Anakin dreamed of Dooku was one thing, but what interested Plo was something Anakin wouldn’t have realized was important.  The dream had shown a lab, and outside the lab was the barren grey-white landscape of a moon.


	3. Chapter 3

Rex was going to start shooting people soon.  It was bad enough that Jesse and Hardcase had gotten lost twice, and Hawk had gotten trapped by an automatic door malfunction resulting in some of Cody’s people coming to help get him out.  No, his latest headache was Fives and Echo.

“I swear, Echo, next time you piss off the Captain, I’m not going to be there,” Fives announced, “this reeks.”

“ _I_ pissed off the Captain?”  Echo said, “ _You_ were the one who decided to smuggle the damned cat on board.”

“You said you wanted one,” Fives protested.

Rex triggered the mic, “You do realize this is an open comm, gentlemen?”

“Kriff,” Fives muttered.

“Sorry Captain,” Echo said.

Rex prioritized a different link, hoping that someone somewhere was being professional.

“What do you think this button does?”

There was a yelp and several loud thuds.

“I’m okay!”

“Does this have to an open comm?”  Rex muttered, not quite looking at the Commanders. 

“We need to make sure nobody gets into trouble they can’t handle,” Cody replied.  Rex reminded himself that he couldn’t punch a superior officer unless they were actually sparring.

Wolffe only shook his head and muttered something Rex couldn’t quite hear.  Rex sighed and reprioritized the prime commlink again.

“He was with the Senator.”

Rex hit the button again before he’d fully realized what was being said, the word Senator enough for him to bring up somebody else, especially with _General Kenobi_ with them.  The last thing he needed was for some of those impossible to kill rumors to be repeated in a General’s hearing.

“Hey look, do you think this does something?”

Horribly loud music.

“Turn it off, Denal!”

Silence.

Rex was definitely going to start shooting people.  He knew where the sniper rifles were, he’d just go into the catwalks in the hangers and just open fire when they came back.  It was far too easy to imagine how it would feel.

“Rex,” Cody said, cutting through Rex’s daydream.  “You can’t kill them.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that,” Rex said defensively.

“Yeah, you were,” Wolffe said, “I’d be thinking the same thing if my men.”

“Hey Dex,” someone said over Wolffe’s comm set, “do you think that stain looks familiar?”

“It’s probably blood.  Looks like what was left when the Commander punched that 327 pilot, remember?  The little one?”

“I meant, haven’t we passed it by before?”

“Well yeah, why do you think I remember where I’ve seen something like it?”

“Doesn’t that mean we’re going in circles?”

“Well, the station is round.”

Wolffe grabbed his comm, “Dex, Tri, stop moving.  Jet, Nitro, go find them.”

“Yes Commander.”

“You were saying?”  Cody asked.  He tapped his datapad.  “That makes it six lost Wolves to two 501st and none 212th.  I do believe that someone’s buying drinks at 79s.”

“Oh gross.”  Rex glanced at his comm, which had cycled around to Fives and Echo again.

“What?”  Echo asked warily.

“I touched it.”  Fives said.  There were some odd noises, like he was shaking his hand or something.  “It’s, slimy.”

“Gross.”  Rex reached to flip the priority, if Fives wasn’t screaming by now, the whatever it was probably was harmless.

“You touch it.”

Rex froze, looking at Cody and Wolffe, who were staring back in fascination.  These were GAR soldiers, ARC Troopers that Rex had handpicked for his unit.  There was no possible way.

“I’m not touching it.

“I touched it, you touch it.”

How had Rex ever thought that these two were ARC material?  How had they survived training?  Had someone drugged General Ti?

“I’m not touching it, we need to move on.”

At least Echo wasn’t losing what sanity he possessed.

“Not until you touch it.”

Maybe Cody would take Fives as a transfer.  He was ARC.

“I’m not touching- Fives, that’s gross, on my bucket!”  From the way Cody snorted, it was very much unlikely that he’d take a transfer.  “Why is it that any time someone gets something slimy on them they have to _wipe their hands on my armor?”_

“Well to be fair,” Cody muttered, “you did start that one, Rex.”

Hearing his name was enough to jolt Rex into triggering the mic again.  “Fives, Echo, you do remember this is an open comm right?”

“Yes Captain,” Echo said.

“Hey, did you hear that?”  Fives said.

“Fives,” Echo said, “are we in enough trouble?”

“Shut up, listen,” Fives said.

There was silence for a moment, and Rex sensed that Kenobi was actually moving where he could hear.

“There, that beeping,” Fives said, “doesn’t that seem familiar?”

“What could possibly be familiar here?”  Echo said skeptically.

“There’s a branching tunnel,” Fives said, “let’s go.”

“Fives,” Rex cut in, “I’m sending Jinx and Ayar your way, wait for them.”

“Fives, you heard the Captain, wait,” Echo said.  There was some soft panting, “Fives!”

“Do you hear it now, Echo?”

“It doesn’t matter, we’re supposed to wait,” Echo said.

“I’ll be right here,” Fives said, “I just need.”

“Fives!”  Echo shouted.  “Captain, he vanished!”

Rex slammed his hand on the all call.  “All 501st troopers, report to maintenance level seven.  Use the nearest door, we’re converging on sector Krill-22.  That’s Krill-Two-Two.  Fives vanished.  Echo, stay where you are until we get to you.”

“Yes sir,” Echo said weakly.

“We need to get down there,” Cody said.

“Wolffe and I will stay here,” Kenobi announced, catching their attention.  “We need to be mindful that there is more going on than we know about.  Wolffe, your men should stay where they are, in case this is a distraction.”

“I’ll send the 212th to hold the maintenance levels above and below seven,” Cody said.

“I’m going to Echo,” Rex said bluntly.

“We’re going,” Cody retorted.  “No one should be alone around here.”

Wolffe and Cody issued their orders while Rex settled his helmet and steadied his breathing.  He was not going to lose men.  Skywalker was getting back the entirety of the 501st.

“Ready,” Cody said, hefting a blaster rifle.

“Ready,” Rex replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Cody and Rex reached the rest of the 502st company that had been searching the station just as the last of them reached where Echo was standing.

“Where’d he go?”  Rex asked, trying not to stare at the orange and green smear across the top of Echo’s bucket.

“That way,” Echo pointed.  “He was there, and then he was gone.  I didn’t blink, he didn’t fall, he was just gone.”

Rex nodded, while Cody scanned the group as they fell in.

“I do not have Fives’ locator on screen,” General Kenobi announced, “nor are his vitals present.”

From the quickly suppressed sound from Echo, he understood exactly what that could mean.

“Get me a rope,” Rex said, “or an ascension line.  I know you people carry these things.”

Over a dozen troopers spoke up, offering lines.  Rex pulled out his own gun and handed it to Echo after clipping the hook to his belt.

“I need three, Kat, Jacks, Dorin, hand me the hooks.”  Rex ordered.

“Captain, what are you doing?”  Cody demanded.

“I’m getting my man back,” Rex replied as he settled the three hooks on his belt.

“Captain,” Wolffe began.

“Sorry sir, but my commanding officers are General Skywalker and Commander Tano,” Rex said, forcing himself to sound cheerful and not terrified.  “Standing orders, we don’t leave our people.”  He turned to the four troopers, “Let the lines play out as I walk.  When I find Fives, I’ll give him two lines.  Echo, Kat, those will be yours.  I’ll be back soon either way.”

“Captain, I strongly advise against this,” Kenobi said.  “I cannot guarantee that I will be able to track you if you go through the same fate as Fives.”

“I understand,” Rex replied.  He considered a moment, “Echo, Jesse, Hardcase, you want to voluntold?”

“Yes sir,” Echo replied eagerly, with Jesse and Hardcase a beat behind.

“Captain,” Kenobi sounded tired.

“I’m not going alone,” Rex pointed out.

Echo handed his ascension gun off to one of the others and the trio were also given paired lines.

“Gentlemen, you understand that there is no guarantee you’ll survive this,” Kenobi said.

“We’re aware,” Rex said.

“It’s kind of what we’re made for,” Jesse added.

“Let’s just do this,” Hardcase said.

“Fives better hope he’s okay, because I just may kill him myself,” Echo growled as he settled his blaster rifle.

“Form up,” Rex said.  “Appo, take your orders from Commander Cody until we get back.”

“Yes sir,” the other Captain replied.

“Captain,” Cody said.  Rex glanced at him and he sighed, _“K’oyacyi.”_

“We’ll being Fives back with us,” Rex said.  “Now spread out so we don’t get tangled, and let’s go.”

“Yes sir,” his team replied.

Blasters ready, they walked forward, Rex slightly in the lead.  As they walked Rex frowned as he tried to figure out what was bothering him.

“Is there something wrong with my helmet, or is this,” Jesse trailed off.

“I see it,” Echo offered nervously.

“What are we seeing?”  Hardcase asked.

Rex halted, and studied it, the he reached forward with the tip of his blaster.  It vanished.  “Hologram,” he announced, pulling the blaster back and inspecting the tip.

“Then why didn’t he come back,” Echo asked softly, probably unaware that he’d spoken up.

“Let’s go,” Rex said and stepped forward.  He made sure to keep his eyes open as he stepped forward, and it was weird to watch as his blaster, and then the rest of him vanished into the image of an empty wall.  When he cleared the other side, he found Fives waiting for him.

“Captain?”  Fives said as Rex cleared the illusion, “Be careful, you can’t go back.  There’s a shield of some kind.”

Rex glanced behind him as the other four stepped through.  “Commander Cody,” he said into his wrist comm, “can you hear us?”

“Tried that,” Fives muttered.

Rex approached the entry point, which looked on this side as if the corridor behind them was empty.

“Fives,” Echo said, and Rex grinned at the smack of armor against armor, “you idiot, I told you to wait.”

“Yeah,” Fives said, “but I did hear something.”

“What did you hear?”  Rex asked.

“Artoo,” Fives said.  “He’s in a room just down the way, behind a forcefield I can’t break, and neither can he.”

Rex considered the repelling lines for a moment, and what Fives had said.  Then he turned, “Nobody move.”  Then he held out his hand and walked through the wall again.

“Rex!”  Cody said, sounding relieved, then he cleared his throat, “Captain, report.”

“We found Fives,” Rex said, “he appears to be unharmed.  The barrier blocks comms, and Fives reported that he couldn’t go back through it.”

“But you did,” Jacks said, then flinched slightly, “sorry sir.”

Rex tapped the repelling lines, “Because there’s still these going through.”

“That makes sense,” Kenobi announced, “whatever’s blocking the passage of solid objects is disrupted by the ascension lines.”

“Fives also reports that he’s found R2-D2,” Rex continued, “although the astromech is behind a forcefield neither of them can circumvent.”

“Captain,” Kenobi said after a moment, “retrieve R2-D2, and then bring him and Fives back through the barrier.  We’ll work on taking it down afterwards.”

“Understood,” Rex said.  “Keep those lines extended, gentlemen, they’re our way back.”

“Yes sir,” Jacks and the others replied firmly.

Rex turned and walked back through and into chaos.

Jesse was leaning against the left wall of the corridor, snorting, while Echo and Hardcase had somehow managed to wrap themselves around Fives, tangling all three of them in their ascension lines.

“Quit playing around,” Rex told them, “Fives, you’re staying here to hold the lines.  They’re keeping the passage open for us to go back and forth.  Hardcase, you’ve got demolitions?”

“Of course, sir,” Hardcase replied.  He looked at the lines and then back at Rex, “Just let me…”

“That’s _my_ foot, Hardcase,” Echo yelped.

Rex considered a minute, then shook his head, “Hardcase, give me the demolitions.  Jesse and I are going to get Artoo.  You three can figure out how to untangle yourselves.”  He unclipped his lines from his belt and sapped them into Hardcase’s hand after removing the detonators.

“On your six, Captain,” Jesse said after passing Echo his lines.

Rex passed him two of Hardcase’s detonators.  “Do I want to know how that happened?”

“I’m pretty sure it was Echo trying to make sure Fives didn’t take off again,” Jesse said.

“Sounds about right,” Rex said after a moment.  He glanced back as a loud thud revealed all three of them had managed to fall over.  He could only imagine what Cody and the others thought was happening.

A shrill, excited beeping announced Artoo’s presence.

“Hi Artoo,” Jesse said, “we’ve come to bust you out.”

Artoo tapped the door, making its forcefield visible, and whistled.

“You’d better get back,” Rex said, holding up one of the detonators, “we’re going to blow up part of the wall.”

Artoo beeped and rolled back.

Quickly, Rex and Jesse set the charges and backed out of the general rang.

“Fire in the hole,” Jesse called out and Rex hit the button.

His visor hadn’t fully cleared before something rammed his leg, and then his audio filters picked up the sound of Artoo’s excited whistles.

“All right Artoo,” Rex said, patting him on the head, “let’s get out of here.”

Finding that Fives and the others still weren’t untangled, Rex glanced at Jesse, “Grab some legs, we’ll cut them apart when we’re on the other side.”

“What?”  Jesse asked.

“Sir!”  Echo protested, just as he rolled free.

Artoo made a blat sound and offered up his cutting saw.

“Not now, Artoo,” Rex told him.  “We got to get through the passage first.”

Fives made a sound of triumph and scrambled free, followed by Hardcase.

“Good job,” Echo said dryly.

“Let’s go back,” Rex said, “and see what Artoo really has to say about what happened.”

Artoo whistled happily and charged off through the barrier.


	5. Chapter 5

Plo was teaching Ani one of the feather games that initiate younglings learned when Obi-Wan returned from the station, and brought with him Skywalker’s astromech, R2-D2.  Ani was just managing to lift the feather, looking gleeful whenever Plo complimented him, but his attention was immediately distracted by the softly beeping astromech.

“Cool,” Ani said, although he didn’t try to get up.

Plo glanced at Obi-Wan, who looked a bit stressed, then at Wolffe, then he turned to Ani.  “I’m sorry, Ani, but I have to speak with General Kenobi and Wolffe now.  Lodestar and the others will be back in a moment, okay?”

“Okay,” Ani said.  “Can I keep playing with the feather?”

Plo hesitated, “Wait until Lodestar is here before you start, and if he tells you to stop, then you must.  I don’t want you to become too tired.”

“Okay,” Ani said.

Plo stood and gestured for Obi-Wan, Wolffe, and Artoo to precede him from the room. 

As soon as the door closed, Plo pulled out his comm, “Just a moment.”

“General?”  Lodestar said moments later.

“Anakin is in the lounge,” Plo said, “I need to speak with General Kenobi and Commander Wolffe.”

“We’re on our way,” Lodestar replied.

Plo nodded and put his comm away.  “How did the rest of your search go?”

Wolffe frowned, “We need to work on our sense of direction.  It was embarrassing.”

“It wasn’t as bad as all that,” Kenobi said easily, “your people aren’t preparing to start a prank war as soon as your back is turned.”

“Yours?”  Plo asked.

“501st,” Wolffe said in that sharp way he had when remembering something that had frustrated him but he’d been unable to deal with.

“And R2-D2?”  Plo asked, looking at the droid, who twisted up to regard him.

“Captain Rex and ARC Trooper Fives found him,” Kenobi said.  “He was behind a force shield, in a shielded part of the station with a hologram and a one-way shield in place down in one of the maintenance levels.”

Plo didn’t say what he thought, knowing from the way Kenobi’s lips pressed together that he definitely was thinking the same thing.  That sort of security was unusual for a station of this size and reputation.

“We’re working on taking down the hologram and shield,” Wolffe said, “our difficulty is in finding the control mechanism.”

Plo nodded, but held up his hand as Lodestar arrived.  “Ani has my permission to practice with his feather as long as you, or one of your squad is there, but you must make sure he stops every half hour and does something physical.”

“Understood,” Lodestar replied and headed inside.

“There’s a ready room over here,” Plo added, “we don’t need to discuss this in the middle of the corridor.”

They headed to the ready room, where Wolffe automatically set about making drinks for the three of them.

“We need to know what Artoo knows,” Kenobi said, hand resting on the droid beside him.  “I’m not fluent in binary, though.”

Wolffe dropped a datapad on the table before bringing over a tray with a tea set, a mug of caff, and one of the special glasses that Plo used to drink from when he needed it.

“Can you hook into this datapad?”  Plo asked Artoo as he called it over to the droid.  “We need to ask you some very important questions.”

Artoo whistled cheerfully and a panel opened up.  Obi-Wan looked and pulled out a data cord, which he plugged into the pad.  After a moment, the datapad’s holographic emitter activated.

_Thank you, Commander Wolffe, General Kenobi.  It is good to communicate._

“You’re quite welcome,” Obi-Wan said.  “Can you tell us what happened?”

 _Station was dark when we arrived._   Artoo replied with a sad whistling moan.  _There was a distress beacon and Master Ani said he could sense living beings even though the ship said otherwise.  We landed in the hanger bay and went into the station.  We were just out of sight of the door when something fell on me, and on Master Ani.  Then there was a restraining bolt and I shut down._

“Bolts don’t do that,” Wolffe said.

“Anakin and Artoo worked some security measures into Artoo’s interface,” Kenobi said, “after Artoo was stolen while carrying vital information.  I believe that a shutdown command when a bolt is placed was one of the ones Anakin mentioned.”

 _Shut down that way makes my memory drop into protected place,_ Artoo offered, _It can’t be scanned by data readers and requires command codes to access.  Senator, Master Ani, and Master Obi-Wan have codes._

Kenobi frowned, “I don’t,” he began, then looked thoughtful.  “The command code wouldn’t happen to be _Family means nobody is forgotten._ ”

Artoo whistled, it’s dome turning in a complete 360 before it settled.  _Processing command._

Plo glanced at Kenobi who busied himself making tea.  When he was done, he looked at Plo, “That’s one of the slave sayings Anakin used to mention, back when he first came to the Temple.  It seemed to make him feel a little less out of place, so I never really stopped him from thinking them.”

Plo nodded slightly, sipping his own drink impassively.

 _Ready to continue,_ Artoo announced with a cheerful triple beep.

“When you and General Skywalker got to the station, was that hanger already open?”  Wolffe asked.

 _Yes._   Artoo replied after a moment.

“After you were jumped, can you tell us what happened?”  Plo asked.

_They did something to make Master Ani fall down and then they had me follow as they carried him down through the shield.  They ran some tests on Master Ani that I did not determine a purpose for and then they brought in the little one.  They ran more tests and seemed happy.  Then they carried the little one away, wrapped in Master Ani’s cloak.  Then they opened a special hanger door and a ship came in.  They put Master Ani on the ship.  I tried to stop them and they threw me into that room.  Then they all loaded up and flew away._

“What did they look like?”  Kenobi asked.

There was a moment’s hesitation, and then the hologram flickered, forming into one of the commando droids, then into being wearing armor that Plo thought might be a bounty hunter.  The final image was of a tall, dark skinned man who came off the ship, a Corellian freighter if Plo wasn’t mistaken, although it was hard to be sure with the narrow field of projection.

“I know some people who might recognize those two,” Plo said.  “R2-D2, would you please transfer those two faces to the datapad, the clearest image you have.”

 _Transferring_ , Artoo replied.

“Master Koon, what are you thinking?”  Kenobi asked.

“There several Jedi who worked with Judicial before the war,” Plo replied, “if we ask, one of them may be able to identify these two beings.”

Obi-Wan nodded.

“While we wait, Obi-Wan, would you mind showing Ani one of the basic meditation forms?  I cannot demonstrate the breathing properly.”  Plo added.

Obi-Wan blinked for a moment, startled, then nodded, “Of course, Master Koon.”

“Thank you,” Plo replied, collecting the datapad.  “Wolffe, make sure you eat and sleep tonight.  Boost and Sinker are out of surgery and cleared to leave medical, I’m sure they’d appreciate the food, if not the company.”

“Understood,” Wolffe replied, standing up.  With a quick look at each other, the trio parted to tend to their duties.


	6. Chapter 6

Ani liked Star and his brothers.  He really liked that he could call him Star because he couldn’t quite say his big name right.  Some free people didn’t like it, and the Masters hurt people who didn’t say it right, but Star was _wizard_.

“Hey Bugs,” Star said, watching as Ani lifted the feather to the ceiling, “where were you before the station?”

Ani shrugged, “With Master Tyrus and my mom.  Then we were sold.”

“Huh,” Star said, he slid off his chair to sit across from Ani, “Bugs, look at me a moment.”

Ani looked at him, curiously.

“Do you know where that was, what place?”  Star said.

Ani tilted his head, “It was a city, I heard a Master call it Thani once.  I didn’t get to see much, I had to stay inside a lot.”

The door hissed open and Ani looked up, wondering if Master Plo had come back.  Instead it was the blond man, Master Obi.

“Hello Anakin, Sergeant Lodestar,” Master Obi said.

“Everything all right sir?”  Star asked, standing up.

“It’s fine,” Master Obi said, “General Koon is speaking with some of his contacts about what Artoo told us and asked me to speak with Ani.”

“Me?”  Ani asked.

Master Obi smiled, “Yes, Ani.  May I join you?”

“Okay,” Ani said with a shrug.

Master Obi knelt before him on the floor, “Sergeant, you’re welcome to stay if you like, and have a seat.  This may be a little boring, it’s Jedi lessons.”

“I’ll be fine sir,” Star said, settling on one of the lounge chairs.

Master Obi smiled a little as he turned back to Ani.  “Now, Master Plo has asked me if I would teach you something.”

“But you don’t like me,” Ani protested, and flinched back.

“That’s not true,” Master Obi said firmly, but kindly.  “I don’t know you, but you remind me of someone.  His name is also Anakin.  He’s missing and I’m very worried about him.”

“Oh,” Ani said.  “I’m sorry.”

Master Obi smiled, “Thank you.  Now, as I said, Master Plo asked me to teach you something.  You know how Master Plo wears a mask?”

“Because he can’t breathe like we do,” Ani said, pleased to have remembered that.

“Right,” Master Obi said, with a smile.  “Well, Jedi have special breathing tricks that we do.  Learning them can help when you learn to use a lightsaber.”

“What’s that?”  Ani asked, tilting his head slightly.

Master Obi took a metal tube from his belt and held it so Ani could see, “This is a lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi Knight.  I’m going to turn it on, but you must not touch the blade.”

Ani nodded and tucked his hands under his thighs.  Master Obi turned the pipe so that it pointed upward and pressed one of the buttons.  A bright blue light came out of the pipe.

“Jedi lightsabers are very special,” Master Obi said.

“And breathing will help me use one?”  Ani asked, trying to understand the connection.

Master Obi shut down the lightsaber and put it on his belt.  “Have you ever run until you’re breathing hard?”

“Yes,” Ani said.

“The thing about breathing is that if you breathe in certain ways, you can do things like run further or faster.”  Master Obi said.

“How?”  Ani asked.

“The way you breathe can bring more air into your body, which helps you move,” Master Obi said.  “Do you understand?”

“I think so,” Ani said doubtfully.

Master Obi smiled, “I’m not explaining it well either. What I want to teach you is a breathing trick that will help you do many Jedi things.”

“Okay,” Ani said.

“Now, this trick is very simple.  You will take a breath, hold it, let it out, and then hold like that before you breath in.  The catch is that you have to count.  When you breath in or out you count to five, when you hold, you count to three, okay?”

“You mean count like one, three, two, four, five?”  Ani asked.

“Well, I would have said one, two, three, four, five,” Master Obi said.

“But I said that,” Ani protested, “just different.”

Master Obi closed his eyes for a moment, and Ani watched as he breathed in deeply and slowly before looking at Ani with a smile, “So, let’s do this breathing trick, okay?”

“Okay,” Ani replied.  He shifted onto his knees like Master Obi was, and closed his eyes.  He peeked out at Master Obi and made sure his hands were set just like the Master, then closed his eyes again.  Then he looked again, to make sure his feet were right.  The third time, he accidentally looked Master Obi in the eye.

“All right, Ani,” Master Obi said as Ani quickly closed his eyes again.  “Breathe in, one, two, three, four, five. Hold, one two three.  Breath out, one two three four five. Hold, one two three.”

Ani tried to breathe with Master Obi’s count, but sneezed instead, twice.

“Sorry,” he told Master Obi.

“That’s all right,” Master Obi said.  Then there was a loud beeping noise and Master Obi produced a comm unit like the one Master Plo had given Ani.  “General Kenobi,” Master Obi said.

“Master Kenobi, I have found leads in our hunt for your former Padawan,” Master Plo said, his voice sounding off when coming through the comm unit.  “I apologize for interrupting your lesson, but I require your assistance in this matter as soon as possible.”

“I understand, Master Plo,” Master Obi replied.  “I’ll be there soon.”  He put the comm away and looked at Ani for a moment.  “Now then, I apologize for that,” Master Obi said, “Let’s get you through this five times, and then I’ll go help Master Plo.”

“Yes, Master Obi,” Ani said politely.  Free people must have a different meaning for as soon as possible.

“We’ll start again with breathing in,” Master Obi said, “ready?  And breathe in.”

Ani closed his eyes tightly and began again to try breathing to Master Obi’s count.  Whatever this was supposed to do, it was a lot harder than it had sounded like.


	7. Chapter 7

When Master Obi-Wan joined Plo, he looked thoughtful, but shook it of as he joined Plo at the holo table.

“Is everything all right?”  Plo asked.

“Just, thinking about Ani,” Master Obi-Wan said, “he’s an engaging boy.”

“Indeed,” Plo replied.  “I am waiting for Knight Saje to get back with me, as she is in the field on a mission, but Master Vos indicated he’d call in soon, and Knight Secura said that one of the men was familiar, but she couldn’t place it straight away and would call back when she remembered it.”

“I know someone who might be of use, if we need more information,” Master Obi-Wan offered.  “The being who pointed me to Kamino in the first place, he tends to have a finger on several information streams.”

Plo had his suspicions about Master Obi-Wan’s source, although he respected the other Jedi’s desire to keep his friend’s anonymity.  “The communications system is at your disposal,” Plo said, “I believe we will need all the information we can gather.”

“Right,” Master Obi-Wan nodded and headed over to make his call from the communication station nearby.

“General.”

Plo turned and smiled a little as Wolffe approached, “Commander.”

“We managed to find the controls for that shield,” Wolffe said, “there’s a control room that we’re working on, but the memory banks are encrypted.  I don’t have anyone who can break those kinds of encryptions.  Commander Cody and Captain Rex are in agreement.”

Plo nodded, “I will make arrangements to bring in a slicer then.  You are well?”

Wolffe shifted to stand directly next to Plo, “I want to run them through drills until they fall over to teach them to _pay attention to where they’re going._ ”

“I’m sure we can come up with something appropriate,” Plo murmured, “It wouldn’t be that difficult after this crisis has passed to deal with the matter.  Please do not toss anyone out the airlock in the meantime.”

“The only one in danger of _that_ is Commander Cody,” Wolffe replied, “smug bastard.”

Plo rested his hand on Wolffe’s arm, projecting a bit of calm to his son in hopes that it would help him keep his temper a little longer.  “Did you at least eat before you checked up on the mission?”

“Of course,” Wolffe said, “did you?”

Plo paused for a moment, thinking.  He’d been with Ani, teaching him lift feather, and he’d been by medical.

“Of course not,” Wolffe muttered, “sir, I would like to note my protests.  You order me to take time to care for myself and be with my brothers, but you?  When do you take that time?”

Plo glanced at Master Obi-Wan, who was speaking to a Besalisk in a chef’s clothes.  “I’m not usually this forgetful, Wolffe.  We’ve simply been busy today.”

“I just don’t want to have to send you to the infirmary because you forgot to eat,” Wolffe replied, he nodded towards Master Obi-Wan.  “Commander Cody told me it’s happened with General Kenobi before.”

“I am not that forgetful,” Plo said, “I am waiting for General Vos to contact me.  After I have spoken to him, I will go eat and you can help Commander Cody shove General Kenobi into a shuttle to do the same on his own ship.”

Wolffe nodded slightly, “That seems a fair deal.”

“My source will have to get back to me,” Master Obi-Wan announced as he came over.  “He’s familiar with the ship’s captain, but not the other man.  He’ll make some inquiries before he confirms identification.  He believes, however, that the man is named Arman Biyani of Aurin, and that he has a history of spice smuggling intermixed with legitimate shipping jobs, and that he has contracted with the Trade Federation in the past.”

“That is something,” Plo said, “I believe we should bring aboard Master Quinlan Vos to assist in finding Skywalker.”

“General Koon, we have an incoming contact from the _Retrieval,_ General Saje for you.”  The comm officer announced.

“Here,” Plo said.

Knight Saje appeared moments later although the holo’s blue-white scale washed out the color of her armor, the bruising on her face stood out starkly.  She was clearly trying to appear fine, but Plo could pick up her pain tells and exhaustion.

“Are you all right?”  Master Obi-Wan said, clearly picking up similar tells.

Knight Saje smiled and bowed, “I’m fine Masters.  It was an, interesting, assignment.”

“I did not expect you to get back to us so quickly,” Plo said.

“I would not have thought so,” Knight Saje replied, “However, what I have to say will be short.  The captain is Arman Biyani of Aurin, he smuggles spice for Jabba and runs legal cargo for the Trade Federation. Master Honso and I were trying to prove the former before Geonosis, but had come to a dead end.  He runs two ships that I know of; a CVX-100 called _Yondering_ and a YT-2300 called the _Nightflyer_.  The other man, I don’t know, but I have a _very_ strong feeling that if you were to ask _Master_ Saje, he might have more answers for you.”

“Thank you, Knight Saje,” Plo said.

“Are you done?”  Knight Saje’s Padawan demanded, coming onto the screen.  The tiny, black haired boy looked both stubborn and annoyed.  “Screech and Bones are going to shoot you with that dart gun, Master.”

“I’m almost done, Padawan,” Knight Saje said, “go tell them I’m on my way, okay?”

The Padawan hesitated a long moment, then turned and walked away.  Knight Saje closed her eyes, clearly seeking patience.

“Is everything all right?”  Plo asked.

Knight Saje opened her eyes and gave him a wry look, “We just extracted two injured Knights in the middle of a full-scale battle, the 429th is still dirtside helping with the evac of the last of our troops, making the Battle of the Moon of Natari a loss.  I think the only one who came out unscathed is my Padawan, due to the fact that he wasn’t allowed dirtside.  Did you have any more questions?”

“No,” Plo said, “go get your injuries tended to, Knight Saje.”

Knight Saje nodded, “I’ll do that.  Don’t hesitate to contact me if you do have any more questions.”

“We’ll do so,” Master Obi-Wan said.

The transmission shut down and Plo glanced at Master Obi-Wan.  “Do we wait for what Master Vos might have to say, or do we contact Master Saje?”  Master Obi-Wan asked.

Plo had a feeling that Master Obi-Wan wanted to contact Master Nikolas Saje immediately, so he turned to the communications officer.  “Lieutenant Mejia, please contact Coruscant and inquire into the current location of Master Nikolas Saje.  Use the Council codes to get the information.”

The blond Lieutenant, a polyglot who had come from Judicial, saluted, “On it sir.”

Commander Wolffe cleared his throat, “Sir, perhaps this is the best time to go and get something to eat?”

Plo nodded, “Perhaps you’re right, Commander.  Please contact me as soon as Master Vos makes contact.  Master Kenobi, would you care to return to the _Negotiator_ to clean up?”

“General,” Mejia said, “Master Saje is on Coruscant and available now.”

“Not at the moment,” Master Obi-Wan said, “but thank you.”

“Open the channel,” Plo ordered.

Moments later, Master Saje’s hologram flickered to life.  Like his daughter, Master Saje’s darker coloring was poorly rendered by the blue-white scale, but he looked surprisingly well rested.

“Greetings, Master Plo Koon and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Saje said with a bow.  “How may I be of assistance.”

“I am sending you an image,” Plo said, signaling Wolffe to send the image of the unknown man.  “Knight Saje indicated that you might have some insight into his identity.”

“I will do my best,” Saje replied.  He hesitated a long moment, “How is Kara, Knight Saje?”

“She seemed well,” Plo offered, “tired, as she’d just completed a mission, but well.”

“Her Padawan seemed in good spirits,” Master Obi-Wan offered.

“The boy is possessed of a cheerful nature,” Saje said agreeably, “and for such a new pairing, it is clear that he adores her.”

“A sign of a strong pairing,” Plo agreed.

Master Obi-Wan shifted slightly, an uneasy tell that Plo had not expected.

“Here is the image,” Master Saje said, and bent over, manipulating a console beyond the camera’s pick-up range.  “I do know this man,” he said moments later straightening up.  “That is Doctor Micah Artanis, he’s a genetics researcher who has spent years doing research in organ transplant and minimizing tissue rejection, including cloned tissue.  He’s been under Judicial review before, actually, because of his mentor.”

“His mentor?”  Plo asked.

“Jenna Zan Arbor,” Master Saje said.  “Before her Force studies came out in the open, she was mentoring Artanis in his research.  He’s publicly renounced her, of course, but the last I heard, both of his labs are on separatist worlds.”

“Both labs?”  Plo asked.

Master Saje hummed a moment, “Yes, his primary lab was on Telos, but in the past few years, he’s had a secondary lab on Serenno.  I’ve met the man, he’s a brilliant scientist but never presented himself as being particularly politically minded.  He opened the secondary lab due to the fact that Telos IV’s planetary laws restrict some of the materials he needed for his research.”

Plo glanced over at Master Obi-Wan, noting that he seemed to be shocked, and wondered what the other Jedi was thinking about.

“I don’t suppose you know, was either of Artanis’s labs on a moon?”  Plo asked instead, to cover for Master Obi-Wan’s silence.

“No,” Saje shook his head, “the Telos lab is in Thani, the capital, and I believe he said the Serenno lab was sponsored by one of the local families and on their property.  I do know of several labs on moons, however.”

“Would you send me that information?”  Plo asked, “In particular, any of them that are self-contained due to a lack of planetary atmosphere.”

“I can do that,” Saje said, “I’ll have it back to you in an hour.”

“Thank you, Master Saje,” Plo said, bowing slightly.

“I’m glad to have been of assistance,” Saje replied, returning the bow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who read this in the past three minutes, I apologize, wrong chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Quin had been able to confirm Biyani’s identity for them before Obi-Wan had left for the _Negotiator_ and a shower.  He kept his expression pleasant, responded to Cody’s comments appropriately, and hung onto his calm by tooth and nail until he was in his cabin.  He didn’t even make it more than a step past the doorway, as soon as the door closed, his knees gave out.

Jenna Zan Arbor.

Obi-Wan mentally flicked the privacy lock as he thumped his head against the door, feeling like a teenager and desperately hunting Zan Arbor the first time.   He’d almost lost Qui-Gon to that woman, and it had been the first time he’d really considered that it was possible to see Qui-Gon die.  He’d been left before, Melida-Dann was proof of that, but that mission had made him face Qui-Gon’s mortality in a way that had shaken him to the core.  Then he and Anakin had run into her and that was the nightmare reborn.

She’d been after Anakin as revenge for Obi-Wan’s part in her imprisonment, and Obi-Wan had been reminded, again, that his family, what little of it he admitted to having, could be ripped from him by others.  Now, here was her name again, tied to a scientist who had run tests on Anakin and who had left behind a clone of his Padawan.

Obi-Wan drew his knees to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees to muffle his scream.  It wasn’t fair.  Nothing about this was normal, the only normal thing about his tenure with the Jedi was getting hit by Yoda’s stick.

Scream finished, Obi-Wan forced himself to stand up and head for the shower.  Anakin need him, he could break down later.

After the shower, and dressed in clean clothes, Obi-Wan was amused to find a tray on the desk in his room.  Cody had access, even to override a privacy lock, as did Helix, their medic.  Cody was the sort who would use it to bring him food.  It was an effective strategy.  Every two hours when he wasn’t sleeping, in a meeting, or in combat, there would be a tray of food presented to him, with the admonishment to have at least a few bites before he was distracted again.

Helix had been happy, the last time he’d been in medical.  Apparently, the ongoing grazing was working to maintain his weight, which had dropped below ideal.

Now, Obi-Wan sat down and began to apply himself to the meal, intending to finish it before the next step in their crisis became clear.  He briefly hoped that Master Plo was also eating.  Then he reflected on Wolffe’s reputation and figured that Master Plo was probably facing the Kel Dor version of a five-course meal if Wolffe had his way.

He was midway through the premade soup when his comm went off.

“General Kenobi.”

“Master Obi-Wan, I have new information about our search,” Master Plo said.  “I also spoke with Mace and Master Yoda, they’re releasing Master Vos to join the hunt.”

Obi-Wan looked at his tray and felt like he’d been slacking.

“Sir, you promised to eat,” Wolffe called, his voice easily carried.

“I did,” Plo began.

“Buir, that liquid shit’s horrible,” Wolffe replied.

Obi-Wan stared at the mic for a long moment, and then cut the comm and called it back.  It was a tactic he’d used when Anakin and Padmé were together and he wasn’t supposed to have heard her talking in the background.

“Obi-Wan,” Plo said.

“Sorry, I had my hand in the wrong place,” Obi-Wan said.  “You said Vos would be joining us, though?”

“Yes,” Plo said.

“Are we staying here much longer?”  Obi-Wan asked.

“The Council is arranging for an investigative team to take over the station in conjunction with Judicial.  Young Ani will be staying with me for now.”  Plo said, “We’ll leave as soon as that team arrives.  If you want to finish your meal and rest, there will be time.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me over there?”  Obi-Wan asked.

Plo actually chuckled, “I am going to be eating and sleeping, Master Obi-Wan.  I assure you, your presence will not be needed for a few hours.”

Obi-Wan nodded, “All right, if anything is needed, have Commander Cody notify me.  If I can’t sleep, I do intend to at least meditate.”

“It will be done,” Plo agreed.

They cut comms and Obi-Wan rested a moment, then reopened the comm on Cody’s private channel.

“General?”  Cody asked.

“General Koon tells me we have several hours downtime,” Obi-Wan said, “I’m going to try to get some sleep.  See to it the men are prepared for our next engagement and then do the same.  Unless a priority call comes from the Council, or General Vos arrives, I do not want to be disturbed.”

“You’re actually going to sleep?”  Cody asked, a clear indication that he was alone.

“I intend to,” Obi-Wan agreed, “as soon as I finish this tray.  If I can’t sleep, I intend to perform a resting meditation.  I trust you can make sure the men are suitably occupied?”

“Captain Rex and I have this,” Cody said firmly.  “Admiral Yularen just started his shift, if we need something.  What about General Koon?”

“General Koon is also taking some downtime,” Obi-Wan said, “contact Commander Wolffe if you need anything at all.”

“I’ll do that sir, no problem,” Cody said.  “Don’t worry about us sir, Rex, Wolffe, the Admiral, and I can handle things long enough for you to get some sleep.”

“I know I can trust you, Cody,” Obi-Wan said.  “But don’t hesitate to wake me if there is an emergency.”

“I won’t, sir,” Cody said.

Obi-Wan knew that tone, Cody would hesitate.  He would try everything he could to keep whatever happened on the ship for the next few hours away from Obi-Wan’s notice.  Helix would conspire with him to pull it off as well if Cody asked.  Their medic was a terror in the infirmary, absolutely in control of any medical situation, but was also quick to follow Cody’s suggestions otherwise.


	9. Chapter 9

Quinlan Vos had met Obi-Wan’s commander half a dozen times over the course of the war, and he’d spent a lot of time admiring the man’s cool professionalism.  However, Quin had never before realized that that cool exterior could be that expressive up until Cody had explained that Obi-Wan was resting and would not be disturbed with a distinct if silent ‘fuck you very much, sir’ added on.  It was the kind of expressive impression that Quin expected from Wolffe, a man who seemed to be in possession of a list of people he was going to punch and or cuss out before the end of the war and was doing his best to make it happen.

Quin, therefore, took himself to the _Liberator II_ instead of the _Negotiator,_ figuring that he’d better check in with Master Plo before he tested Cody on seeing Kenobi.  Wolffe would punch if he got too pushy, Cody seemed ready to shoot him.

What Quin didn’t expect, however, was to be accosted in the hallway by a tiny, blond haired child.  The little boy had been laughing, chased by one of the 124th Clones, right up until he slammed into Quin’s legs.

The little boy had fallen down, while Quin had stepped back, and for a moment, Quin was stunned by the absolute terror in the child’s blue eyes.

“Bugs, are you all right?”  The Clone asked, “Sorry General.  I hadn’t realized you were coming this way.”

“It’s fine, Sergeant,” Quin said, still studying the boy.  He crouched down and tried a smile, “Hi there, are you okay?”

The boy, who had scooted back until he was sitting on the Sergeant’s foot, nodded.  “Yes sir.”

Quin tilted his head, “I’m Quin, what’s your name?”

“I’m Anakin,” the boy said, “are you a Master?”

There was a soft warning in the Force and Quin shook his head, “I’m a Jedi.  The troopers call me General as a courtesy, but I’m not in charge of anything.”

Anakin looked up at the Sergeant, then back at Quin, “Are you going to help Master Plo and Master Obi find Master Obi’s friend?”

Quin smiled, “Yes I am.  I should get going though, I’m supposed to meet with Master Plo now.”

“Okay,” Anakin said.

“Come on, Bugs,” the Sergeant said, “we’re supposed to go eat, remember?”

Anakin nodded, he offered Quin a tentative smile, “If I eat the nasty stuff, I get meiloorun.”

“That’s very cool,” Quin said, standing up.  “I’ll see you around, Bugs, Sergeant.”

“General,” the Sergeant said, saluting.

Quin moved around the pair and continued on down the hall, where he found Wolffe lurking in one of the cross corridors.

“General,” Wolffe said.

Quin glanced back to find the Sergeant and child out of earshot.

“Can you explain that?”  Quin asked, gesturing behind him.

“I think General Plo ought to do that,” Wolffe said, “if you’re willing to wait, he’s in the middle of having breakfast.”

“I have time,” Quin said.  “Is there anything you _can_ tell me?”

Wolffe tilted his head slightly, “Not that I can think of sir, that sort of thing is better coming from the General.”

Quin wanted to protest, but he knew these guys were stubborn when they held those sorts of beliefs.  “Is Master Plo available?  I feel like I should get that explanation sooner than later, and Commander Cody sounded like he’d shoot me if I tried to bother Kenobi.”

Wolffe’s lips thinned as he pressed them together, but Quin saw amusement in the man’s eye.  “General Koon is having a meal, but the tray was delivered fifteen minutes ago, so he should be finished soon.  I’ll let him know you’re here, if you’ll wait for him by his office.”

“Right,” Quin said, “where is that?”

Now there was a hit of an eyeroll, “Lift’s down this corridor, go up two levels, and then turn right.  There’s a desk and a couple of chairs outside an airlock door.  That’s General Koon’s office through the door, but it’s currently geared for General Koon’s breathing needs.”

“Thank you, Commander Wolffe,” Quin said.

“You’re welcome sir,” Wolffe replied.

Quin found the office fairly easily, and settled himself outside Koon’s office with a sigh.  He didn’t mind dealing with the clones on a limited basis, but when he had to deal with them in a large group, or for a long period of time, he found himself more and more convinced that there was something wrong.  He couldn’t articulate it, exactly, but it was almost an itchy feeling in the back of his mind.

Just now, talking to Wolffe, that itchy feeling had been completely non-existent.  In fact, as Quin allowed himself to open up a bit, it took seeking into a near meditative trance to feel any of it, and it was shrinking as he searched for it.  Quin blinked out of his trance, trying to pull his attention back to the here and now.

“Koh-toh-ya, Master Vos.”

Quin stood up as Koon approached, “Master Koon, good morning.  I came as soon as I could.”

“You come in good time, Master Vos,” Koon replied.  He turned to the airlock door and input a command into the keypad beside it.  “If you’ll wait just a moment, the atmosphere in my office will rebalance to an oxygen ratio.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Quin protested.

“I think that it will be better for you not to wear a breathing mask right now,” Koon said, “I have a feeling you aren’t going to like what I have to say.”

“Does this have anything to do with that little kid I saw?  Because Aayla aside, I’m not actually that skilled at child handling,” Quin said.

“The child is a part of this,” Koon agreed.  The keypad beeped and the door swung open, “Come inside and let’s talk.”

Quin glanced over his shoulder, feeling uneasy, but he followed Koon into the office and took a seat in the chair Koon indicated.

“The child you saw is Anakin Skywalker, age 6,” Koon said once they were both seated.  “Or rather, he is a clone of Anakin Skywalker, age 6.”  He lifted his hand and caused a datapad to float over to Quin, “This is the information we’ve gathered so far, both on Ani, and on Skywalker himself, who appears to be missing.”

“Okay,” Quin said carefully.

“We would like your assistance and expertise in finding the elder Skywalker,” Koon said, “as neither Obi-Wan or I have had much training in these matters.”

Quin nodded, “I can help with that, Master Koon, no problem.”

“Go ahead and take that with you,” Koon said, “I’ve asked Wolffe to arrange you a sleep space and work space.”

Quin glanced up from the pad, “Of course, Master Koon.”

“We’ll meet with Kenobi in an hour, if that’s alright, to at least get a preliminary plan in place.”  Koon added.

“I’ll see you in an hour.”  Quin said, standing up.  “Until then, Master Koon.”

“Until then, Master Vos.”


	10. Chapter 10

One thing about Quinlan Vos, in Obi-Wan’s opinion, was that when the man got to work, he got results.  He might carry over the same relaxed attitude, but while he was flirting with Cody and teasing Obi-Wan on the comms, he was also digging up information beyond what anyone else had.  That didn’t count the readings he pulled in the once-shielded area using his psychometry.

It took time, but when Quinlan joined them on the _Liberator II_ , he had a grim smile in place.

“Our search begins on Telos.”  Quinlan said, “Not only is that Master Saje’s assessment, but I was able to pull data from the computer to confirm that a YT-2300 called _Yondering_ logged Telos as their destination.”

“Biyani,” Master Plo mused, tapping his mask thoughtfully.

“That’s a Separatist planet,” Obi-Wan observed dryly.

“No, really?”  Quinlan retorted, “thought I’d be taking a stroll on Coruscant.”  He made a dismissive gesture, “I’ve got a cover and a partner who can get me into Thani, but just me.  Some of my clan-cousins run a shipping business and one of the pilots has helped me out in the past.”  For a brief moment, Obi-Wan thought Quinlan softened, before he blinked, and Quinlan was looking straight at Master Plo.  “Keep in mind if we’re stopped by the Republic forces, I’ll have to break cover to get out of it and I’m not sure that’ll keep Chance out of trouble.”

“If that should happen, then you should contact me immediately,” Master Plo said, “I will vouch that you are on a sanctioned mission for the council, and your pilot friend, Chance?  Will be equally protected.”

“Thank you, Master Plo,” Quinlan said.  “I’ll send a message out to Chance.”

“Do you have a plan?”  Obi-Wan asked, wondering if he’d missed part of the conversation.

“Mostly, it’s go to Telos, check out that Doctor’s lab and residence without attracting attention, and any people he’s associated, and then come back here to update the two of you.”  Quinlan crossed his arms, “This isn’t my first hyperspace jump, Kenobi.  I know what I’m doing.”

Obi-Wan nodded slightly, “Forgive me my concern.”

“Appreciated, but it needs no forgiveness,” Quinlan said after a moment.  He bowed slightly, “I’ll go make contact with Chase.”

/././.\\.\\.\

Justafin Vos was a part time smuggler’s pilot with a weakness for lomin ale and pretty Twi’leks.  He made himself known to certain smugglers a few times a year and was generally considered skilled enough for the Kessel Run, but not so personable as to earn more than a handful of serious, long term or permanent positions.  And he was never going to take those positions, as soon as anyone mentioned it, Justafin went bolting back to the Clan on Kiffu without even a backwards glance.

He was also Quin’s third favorite alias.  Between the comfortable, if fitted black pants and dark brown top, and the fact that he had every excuse to include Chance in the mission, Quin currently adored the quirky alias.

Chance was the captain of the _Marble Fox,_ a VCX-100 freighter, and he primarily contracted with Quin’s cousins and their shipping business.  The young man was a member of the Vulpix race, near human, but characterized by their circular eyes with slit pupils, pointed ears, and two-toned hair.  Chance, in particular, had white hair on top of his head, but black eyebrows, beard, and mustache when he was so inclined to grow them.

“The best thing about Chance is that he won’t ask questions,” Quin told Kenobi and Master Plo.  “He doesn’t need to know why I need to go to Thani, once I assured him that the Order would stand for us, he was plotting his course here.”

“I am glad you have such a contact,” Master Plo, “You are sure he will ask nothing of us.”

“He’s contracted to my cousins for their shipping business,” Quin said, “since I facilitated that partnership, which allowed him to raise his younger siblings after their parents died, he considers helping me out a few times a year as repayment.”

For a moment, he let himself recall the night they’d met.  It had been amazing, both in the way things seemed when he was happy and drinking, and as the beginning of a forbidden friendship worth every risk.

“We have a VCX-100 freighter on our scope,” the comm officer announced, “IFF reads as the _Marble Fox.”_

“That’s my ride,” Quin said, tugging nervously on his jacket, “I’ll see you later, Master Plo, Kenobi.”

“Master Vos,” Kenobi said, his even tone unable to hide the concern in his eyes.

“May the Force be with you,” Master Plo added with a slight nod.

Quin bowed in response and left, pointedly not running, even when they couldn’t see him.  Now that he was leaving, free to go hunting, his blood sang with the glee of the hunt.  It wasn’t the hunting his ancestors had performed, seeking food to survive, but he was every bit the hunter they had been.  His prey was just a bit different.

The _Fox_ was landing just as Quin reached the hanger, and the ramp was down just as he was ready to step on board.  He didn’t, however, only braced himself against the tackle-hug that Chance specialized in.  He swung his friend around once and set him down.

“Still a Jedi?”  Chance asked softly.

“It’s my lot in life,” Quin said, taking advantage of the hug to press a kiss to Chance’s temple.  “Let’s get moving.”

“All right,” Chance said with a sigh.

“It is a bit of a trip to Telos,” Quin offered as they walked up the ramp.  “I’m sure we can find _something_ to do.”

Chance laughed and glanced at him, “So many options, Master Vos. We’ll certainly not be bored.”


	11. Chapter 11

“So, what is the plan, exactly?”  Chance asked as he handed Quin a mug of caff.

“Thank you,” Quin said, “I need to get into Doctor Micah Artanis’s main lab facility.  Depending on what I find there, I may need to find any other labs he’s associated with.”

“You mean New Horizons?”  Chance asked as he slid beside Quin on the bench.

“I believe so,” Quin said, wondering where his datapad had ended up.

“Well, I’ve got you covered,” Chance said, he waved in the direction of the holding bay, “Our cargo is Republic made medical equipment, things that the Confederates aren’t set up to make but which are needed.  Three of the crates are intended for New Horizons.”

Quin slid his arm over Chance’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his temple, “I am so glad I crashed into your table that night.”

“I’m not,” Chance said, “that ale wasn’t cheap.”

“I could make it up to you,” Quin offered, putting his mug down.

“Maybe,” Chance said, looking up at him.

The five-minute warning on the autopilot went off.

Chance chuckled, leaned up to give Quin a quick but firm kiss, “Maybe later, aumir.  Now get into the cockpit and remind me why I hired you.”

Quin tilted his head as he followed Chance, “Those chairs are a bit close to the front panel, and rather narrow, but I think I can fit.”

“What?”  Chance asked, glancing over his shoulder as he entered the cockpit.

“Well, you did hire me as your sex toy, right?”  Quin said teasingly.

Chance laughed and slid into the pilot seat, “Come on, help me land this thing and we can renegotiate your contract later.”

/././././.\\.\\.\\.\\.\

The landing was mostly uneventful.  There were a few tense moments when Security came by to look them over, but they were allowed to land unmolested.  Chance was even able to hire some equipment and extra helpers to unload the cargo before Quin had managed to check out the crates he was taking to New Horizons and the speeder he’d use for the delivery.  With a quick nod to Chance, Quin headed out, stopping at the edge of the port to get directions before braving the traffic in Thani.

It had been years since Quin had been to Thani, back then, the place had still been recovering from Xanatos and the fall of Offworld.  Now, it was becoming a haven of industry, no doubt prodded along by the pillaging of the once sacred spaces.  Quin kept his head down and his shields up, he didn’t need to know what this transformation was doing to the people, he’d seen it before and it wasn’t something he could stop in the amount of time he had today.  As he skirted a pair of wrecked speeders and their screaming owners, he wondered if things could be changed here even if the whole Order descended on the planet.

Finally, he reached New Horizons, and Quin could stop trying not to think about the rest of the city and focus on the mission.

A grey and brown furred Bothan in a lab coat was pacing the loading dock when Quin pulled in.

“You’re late,” she hissed.

“Fucking Republic,” Quin replied, “almost got ourselves boarded.  Damn clones, just as nosy as the Jedi, and twice as suspicious.”

“You weren’t followed?”

“Not the Fox,” Quin said.

“Good, grab a crate and follow me.”

A second person, a Human, came forward to get one of the crates and Quin followed them.  They passed through a long, but narrow storage space and then into a long hallway with a beige and white color scheme interrupted by steel doors.

“Come, hurry,” the Bothan said, speeding down the hallway to the only set of double doors.  Quin had to practically jog to keep close, but he didn’t let that stop him from carefully reaching out to get a feel for the space.  There was some pain and the feeling of sickness, but it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared.

The room they entered was a half-built lab, with furniture and equipment scattered across the room, some of it in position and some of it was half unpacked, or waiting to be assembled.  At one end of the lab was a half open door, beyond which someone was yelling.

“I can’t do twenty years in two days!  Even those damned longnecks need a year.  You promised me time, what happened?”

Quin kept his expression calm as he pushed the crate into the spot the Bothan indicated and handed over the datapad for the Bothan to sign.

That done, Quin made his way back to the Fox quickly, but carefully, ensuring that he shook all three tails without catching attention of the local judiciary forces.  He got there to find it empty, save for a holo message from Chance stating he was off finding cargo for their outbound trip.  Quin smiled to himself, he might be a Jedi to the bone, but Chance was a cargo pilot, always heading somewhere hauling something.

That done, Quin headed up to his quarters, pulling the small camera and microphone from the pin on his collar and sliding it into the special equipment that translated the data for clear viewing.  Then he cued up the recording from inside that half-built lab.

_“I can’t do twenty years in two days!  Even those damned longnecks need a year.  You promised me time, what happened?”_

_“That damned Kel Dor showed up early.  It was supposed to be Kenobi who found him.  Not to mention the Kiffar.  You’re going to need to move your operations out to the Hallen Laboratory as soon as possible.”_

_“What Kiffar?”_

_“That Vos asshole, the terrier.  They called him in.  You should keep an eye out for any Kiffar coming into the labs.”_

Quin jerked back, his stomach plummeting in fear.  Whoever that was, if they were looking for him, they were going to find him on the lab’s security.  He hadn’t even bothered to hide his tattoos, so many of the Vos Clan had scattered after his parents died that it wasn’t unusual to find them working on the less than legal side of things.  He shook his head and made himself take a deep breath, releasing his tension in to the Force.

Standing up, Quin headed back down to the cock pit to check things over, hoping that he’d at least have until Chance got back before they had to run.

He’d just finished the preliminary checks when Chance came back.  Quin headed back, looking into the cargo hold as Chance shut the ramp behind him.

“Finn!”  Chance said cheerfully, “How was your trip?”

“Trouble,” Quin replied.  “They’ve been warned to look out for Kiffar, Chance.  As soon as something’s said, I’m out.”

Chance nodded, “Well, good thing I didn’t find a cargo then.  We can pull out tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Quin said.

“Don’t be,” Chance said, “I don’t care about cargo when I know you’re in danger.  Now let’s get ready to go.”


	12. Chapter 12

Quin followed Chance back to the cockpit, sliding into the co-pilots chair, but refusing to strap in.  If trouble showed up, he had to get to the gun turret.

Chance flipped on the comm and began the process of getting them departure clearance.  Quin crossed his arms over his chest, pushing his shoulders into the chair as he struggled to regain some of his serenity.  They were going to make it out of here, he wasn’t blown.

“Kriff,” Chance said, “they want to inspect the cargo hold, since we’re cutting out so fast.  I told them it was a family emergency.”

“Did you specify the emergency?”  Quin asked.

“No,” Chance said.  “Stay here in the cockpit, I’ll handle this.”

“Chance,” Quin said.

“I’ve got this,” Chance said.

Quin hesitated a moment, then bowed his head, “Of course.  If you need a good excuse, tell them that my wife has gone into early labor, too early, and there’s a chance…” he trailed off.  Chance was a good actor, he’d only need that much to sell it to the dockworkers.

“I’ll tell them what they want to hear,” Chance said.  “You don’t have a thing to worry about.”  He bent over and gave Quin a quick kiss, “Trust me.”

Quin turned to watch Chance leave, noting his partner left the bulkheads open so he could hear.

///…///…///…\\\\\\...\\\\\\...\\\\\

Chance shook his head slightly.  Quin was a good guy, had pulled him out of far too many bad scrapes for the short time they spent together, but the guy was a champion worrier.  Especially for Chance and Aayla, the two people he counted as family.  Chance supposed part of it was the loss of Master Tholme, and part of it bad things that happened before he had met the Kiffar Jedi, but dealing with Quin was to deal with his compulsive worrying.

Two security guards came up from the port, both carrying heavy duty blasters.  “Gentlebeings,” Chance said, holding his arms out welcomingly, “The Fox is at your service.  Feel free to look around.”

“You’re cutting out without a cargo?”  One of the pair said.

“My co-pilot’s wife just went into early labor,” Chance said easily, “we probably won’t back it before the babe’s born, but it’s better all around that they know he’s on his way.”

“Bit much for a baby,” the other one muttered.

Chance bristled, “First kid, after two miscarriages, and it’s early, you’re lucky I didn’t just blast out of here.”

The guards grunted at that, but they moved inside to start inspecting the ship.  Chance made sure to keep himself in the corner of their eye, a silent sentinel to their actions.  He knew there wasn’t anything for them to find, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t do their best to find something.  That was how it always worked in these events.

Still, Chase had to admit he admired their dedication as they knocked on some of the bulkheads and stomped their feet a bit, listening for the echoes of a smuggler’s hold.  He wasn’t as amused when they glanced in the passenger’s cabins, but he figured it was a small price to pay either way.

They headed up to the cockpit, and Chase wondered if he should make a complaint, but with the door open, it was too late.

“Captain?”  Quin called as the men entered, he sounded anxious and uncertain.

“Justafin,” Chance called back, “It’s okay, we’re almost done.  This is my co-pilot, Justafin Vos.”

“A Kiffar?”  One of the security men asked, with a hint of a sneer.

“I do a lot of work for Justafin’s family.  He needs the hours to get his own license, so I agreed to bring him along.”  Chance said.

“Please,” Quin said, “is there anything else you need to see before we can leave?  My family…” he trailed off.

“We’re done,” the other security man said, abruptly.  “Thank you for your time.”

“Not a problem,” Chance said, “it’s always a pleasure to work with men who are as efficient as you are.”  He steered them back down to the loading bay ramp.  “Next time I’m in port, and you are off duty, come find me and I’ll buy the drinks.”

“We’ll do that.”

/././.\\.\\.\

Quin settled carefully back in his seat, turning until he could see the screen to the security cameras and watching as Chase escorted them off the ship.  Once Chase hit the ramp button, Quin felt his shoulders relax.  They now had to get back to Republic space and get Quin’s information to Obi-Wan and Plo Koon.

“Was it worth it?”  Chase asked as he entered the cockpit.

“I’m very sure I’ve got something,” Quin said, “what we make of it in next could be exactly what we need to crack this case.”  He began his part of the warm up sequence.  “I’m glad you came with me, Chase.”

“I’m glad I could see you,” Chase said.  “I miss you, sometimes.”

“Chase,” Quin said.

“I know,” Chase said.  “I don’t own you, Quin.  But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss you, and your jokes.”

“But not my towels,” Quin offered.

“If you’d just pick them up,” Chase replied with a sigh before reopening the channel to the port master.

Soon, they were on their way out of atmosphere, working in unison to bring the ship into position for the hyperspace jump.  Suddenly, there was an explosion off their aft side.

“What the?”  Chase began.

“Security,” Quin began as the radio came on.

“Kriff,” Chase muttered.

“I’ll get in the turret,” Quin said, “get us out of here.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Chase said, “I’ve got this.”

Quin ran for the turret, using the Force to balance as the ship shuddered, and to give him a boost up the ladder.  As he jammed on the comm system, Quin reached for the Force, releasing his spiking anxiety, and reaching out to detect the location of their attackers.  As soon as the gun was ready, Quin swung on his first target.  It was an ugly, one of the piece together fighters that were cheaper than custom, and almost always had a surprise or two.  It was unusual for planetary defense, but Quin had seen worse.

He swallowed a cheer as he took out the first, and swung to target the second.

“Quin, we’re gone,” Chase called, and then hyperspace overtook Quin’s view.


	13. Chapter 13

Quin returned from Telos looking tired, but he brought with him a damning holo that promised to answer their questions.

“Another clone,” Plo Koon said quietly, “I wonder what they expected to do with that one.”

“And if they plan to target anyone else,” Obi-Wan forced himself to say.  He exchanged a look with Plo, both of them knew that a Councilor’s clone would have access to everything to do with the war.

“Now, let’s get to work on finding this lab,” Plo said.  “Quin, do you have any leads.”

“I’ve just begun searching,” Quin said, “I haven’t got anything.  I was going to send a message to Master Saje, asking about the lab, but I wanted to make sure it was okay first.  I don’t want to get yelled at for that if I can help it after all.”

“You may,” Plo said, “but make sure your request is encrypted.”

“After how quickly they figured out I was involved in this mess?  It’ll be the most secure encryption I can manage,” Quin said with a scowl.

Obi-Wan thought Quin was insulted by how quickly his presence had been discovered.  The Kiffar put a lot of effort in being discrete.

“Let’s look at this from a different angle,” Plo said finally, “while you look into that, we will look into some other information.”

“All right,” Quin said, “I’ll be back when I hear from Master Saje.”

Obi-Wan waited until the door closed, “It’s not our people.”

“No,” Plo agreed, “they would not betray us.”

Obi-Wan thought of Slick, “I meant that Cody’s had trusted people watching for transmissions going in and out, there are none so far as we can tell.  Not even from the station.”

“Then who could have found out,” Plo said.  “I know Quinlan went through Coruscant.”

Obi-Wan leaned on the console for a moment, “We’ll have to get someone on that end hunting for leaks.  This is, it’s bad enough, we don’t need a spy giving away our every move.”

“Perhaps what we need is some time to think,” Plo said, “I will speak to Mace about this.”

“I will ask my contact if he knows anything about this new lab,” Obi-Wan replied.

/././.\\.\\.\

When they had met back up again, it was Obi-Wan who had news about their next step.

“Hallen Laboratory is a subsidiary of Serenno Medical Holdings,” Obi-Wan announced, “officially, they’re an ‘independent genetics research facility’ but if you track the shell companies, the link is there.”  He glanced at the notes he’d taken from Dex’s message.  “Three guesses on who the primary share holder of SMH is.”

“Dooku,” Quin muttered.

“Correct,” Obi-Wan said, “his cousin sits on the board of directors as his proxy, but it’s Dooku.  Interesting fact, SMH is a known customer of Spaarti Creations.”

“The ones who make those cloning cylinders?”  Quin asked.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said, “the ones that create mad clones.”

“Which explains why they were talking about the time it would take,” Plo said.  “Even the Kaminoans have to restrict how quickly they grow their clones to balance the risk of mental imbalance.”

“But, if they had time and sample,” Quin trailed off.

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together, thinking of the boy still being entertained by their troops in shifting watches.  Young Ani, affectionately called Bugs by his minders, was a warm hearted, trusting boy so much like the boy Obi-Wan had met long ago.

“We also have a location,” Obi-Wan said, “although I can’t say we should just charge in there.”

“I’ve been burned,” Quin added, “I can’t go in.”

They exchanged long glances.

“Kara can do it,” Quin said suddenly.

“I’m sorry?”  Plo said.

“Kara Saje, she can do it,” Quin said.  “She’s not known for undercover work, she’s hostage negotiation by preference, but she’s trained for it.”

“Can we pull her in?”  Obi-Wan asked, looking to Plo.

“Without involving the Council, you mean?”  Plo asked, “We can.  Mace gave us permission to call on whatever leads we needed.  This is a serious matter.”

“Then let’s keep this off Coruscant,” Obi-Wan said.

“Quin, go to Saje’s current posting and bring her and her Padawan here as soon as may be.”  Plo said finally.  “Take a shuttle and pilot with you, keep the number of people aware of things limited.”

“Yes Master,” Quin said, standing up.  “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

/././.\\.\\.\

Saje’s ship, the _Retrieval_ and its sister ship, the _Justified_ had already arrived at their base when Quin tracked them down.  He stood just behind the shoulder of his pilot, a man named Comet, and watched quietly.

“Do relax sir,” Comet said finally, “it’s a bit distracting.”

“Sorry,” Quin said, although he didn’t move.

Comet sighed and landed, “I’ll wait here, sir.”

“Thank you,” Quin said, “we shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

He exited the ship to find Jaran Val, Kara Saje, and her dark haired Padawan, Micah, waiting for him. 

“Master Vos,” Val said, while Saje and her Padawan bowed.  “Welcome to Watchtower Base.”

“Hello, Knight Val,” Quin said, returning the bow.  “I’m actually here to borrow Knight Saje, it’s important.”

“Is it about the comm message earlier?”  Saje asked.

“Yes,” Quin said, “but I’m afraid I can’t say more right now.  It’s a delicate matter.  We need you to come with me now for the mission.  Your Padawan as well.”

“Micah, go get our bags,” Saje said after giving Quin a long look.  “I’ll need to issue a few orders around here, Master Vos, then I’ll be ready.”

Quin smiled grimly, “My thanks, Knight Saje.”

Kara turned and headed off, calling one of the men in the hanger to her as she did so.

“Anything I can do to help?”  Val asked after a moment.

Quin shook his head slightly, “It’s better if you keep mention of this quiet.  We’ve already had a leak, we’re trying to prevent another.”

“We’re on a down time for the next seventy-two hours,” Val said, “no missions, and no leave.  Captain Zip and I can handle things until she gets back.”  He hesitated a moment, “The only trouble will be explaining things to her squad.”

“Oh?”  Quin asked.

“You cannot go with me,” Saje suddenly said loudly.  “This isn’t the usual sort of assignment.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but last time you went out without us, you were shot,” a clone retorted.

“I’ve been shot on missions with you as well,” Saje replied, coming into view trailing half a dozen clones, one with a Captain’s rank markings and a second with a Lieutenant’s rank.  “This isn’t something to be discussed in a committee, Lieutenant.  I am leaving on a mission with Micah, alone.  You’re going to stay here, follow Captain Zip’s orders, and keep Jaran alive for me until I get back.”  She turned and planted her hand in the Lieutenant’s chest, “Do you understand me, Lieutenant CT-2983?”

“Sir, yes sir,” the Lieutenant replied, looking stunned.

Saje stepped back and looked at the rest of the men, “Are there any other questions?”

Silence followed, Quin was surprised to notice they all looked stunned, even Val.

“Captain,” Saje said, “with me.”  She turned and continued heading towards Quin and the shuttle, her voice dropping below audible volume.

“Fuck me,” Val said softly.

“What?”  Quin asked.

“Kara never uses their designations,” Val said, “it’s a point of, of personal honor.  She might with another battalion, Force knows she’s done it to pull my men down a notch when they’ve crossed the line, but never with the 425th, especially never with Knight Squad.”  He glanced at Quin, eyes wide, “What the hell are you dragging her into?”

Quin narrowed his eyes slightly, “I can’t tell you that.  Just, understand that it’s for the war effort.”

“I’m beginning to really hate that line,” Val replied.

“Jaran,” Kara said, “command’s yours.  Make sure you don’t get killed while I’m gone.”

“That’s my line, Kara,” Jaran replied, reaching out to take Kara’s arm in the Mandalorian fashion.  “Bring Micah back safe, it’s going to be quiet without him.”

Kara grinned, “Not even a bruise, Hazard.”

Just then, Micah appeared, bags in hand.  “Read, Master Kara, Master Vos.”

“Let’s go,” Quin said, gesturing for the ramp.


	14. Chapter 14

Kara was never going to get used to going on a mission alone.  She’d had her squad, her Padawan, and her partner in her life for so long it was strange to step off the transfer shuttle alone.  As Kara joined a line of people heading through customs, she promised herself, again, to find a way to make it up to Blaze.  She’d had to shut him down hard, but it had been necessary.  Vos was another of those who didn’t exactly buy into her visions, and Kara had a long memory on those sorts of things.  Not to mention his opinion of the men.

There was a point where adding fuel to the fire was a death wish, and Kara was far too cautious to get close to that.  Instead, she focused on her mission.

Dressed in smugglers’ clothing, wearing a black wig that had green and purple streaks worked in, contacts to make her eyes blue, and using a carefully developed outer rim accent, there was little to match her to the Coruscant native, brown haired Jedi Kara Saje.

“Reason for your visit?”  The bored customs agent asked.

“Work,” Kara replied, “I’m a contractor, security.”

The agent eyed her for a moment, and her blasters, “Solo blasters only until you’re contracted.  Remember, there’s no protection for you if you draw them without a contract saying otherwise.”

“Understood,” Kara said, watching as he entered the information in his datapad.

“You’re free to go,” the agent said, waving his hand onward, “don’t forget to put one of those in a safe case.”

“I won’t,” Kara replied cheerfully as she pulled the left side blaster and made a show of pulling off the power pack.  It wasn’t a case, but she knew it would suffice until she could get to a place to store it.  Or to ostensibly store it.

She didn’t have luggage, most security contractors got uniforms from their employers as part of the contract, after all.

Kara paused long enough to take in the barren landscape outside a nearby window, before heading for the hostel that would be her home base for the work.  Kara didn’t do undercover work often.  She knew how, had done so for years before and after her formal training with Judicial, but she never cultivated a reputation for it.  Master Honso had told her that a reputation wasn’t limited to the good guys, if you worked undercover and your cover got blown, the shadier side of the galaxy would be aware of you before your next mission.  It probably accounted for some of Vos’s attitude, Kara realized as she locked away her second blaster.  He’d been blown before he even got started.

Blaster settled, clothes settled, Kara turned and headed out.  She was here for work, after all.  Step one, get an idea of the lay of the land.  Most of the crowds were circling around the space port, but Kara struck out for the outlying parts of the station, where the medical companies were located.

“Hey you!”

Kara turned carefully and frowned at the two approaching station guards.

“Who are you?”

“Silver,” Kara said shortly, “Silver Whitesand.  I’m a security contract worker.”

“Where are you headed?”  The second guard asked.

“I’m looking for work,” Kara replied, crossing her arms.  “Since I don’t fancy going space-mad, I was hoping for something a bit more settled than another damn freighter.”

The guards exchanged glances, “Try Umi Medical Supply,” the first one said.  “I’ve heard they were looking.”

“Sure,” Kara said, “Where do I need to go?”

“Take the besh-2 tunnel a third of the way down, the door’s marked.”  The second one said.

Kara grinned, “Thanks.  I’ll have to buy you guys drinks if this works out.”  She turned and headed off.  She’d been planning to check the besh-2 tunnel during her recon, it was home to Hallen Laboratory, her actual target.  She racked her brains as she followed the directory map she acquired from a public terminal but could find no memory of Umi Medical Supply.

She’d have to hope it wasn’t some cruel joke from the security and that she’d actually find the necessary work.  Once that was done, she could move into phase two of her mission a lot easier.


	15. Chapter 15

Getting the job was easy, night shift security work was the same everywhere, all you had to do was have a decent history, pass a drug screen, and show up, preferably on time.  Kara was on time as ordered on a regular basis, it was easy enough to do.  Umi Medical Supply was tiny, squeezed into a series of corridors that ran close to her target. 

Kara had her complaints about her work, in particular the uniform, but she did her work and kept her mouth shut about things she needed to keep shut about.  She wasn’t here to report on smuggling Republic medical supplies to CIS nations after all.  She was here to find out if there was any trace of Anakin Skywalker in Hallen Laboratory.

It took her three weeks to find a reliable schematic that showed her how the two labs shared ventilation, an actual entry point that had to be the biggest secret in the station.  Especially given how Hallen was rated for dangerous viruses and airborne poisons.

The first step to getting her information was to convince her co-workers she was harmless.

“Dinner,” Kara announced as she entered the guard’s office.

Benk, the Besalisk who watched the cameras, grunted, “Better be worth having.”

“Would I serve you something bad?”  Kara asked as she set the greasy container on his desk with a flirtatious smile.  “It’s not like I cooked it even.”

“One day, I will make you cook for me,” Benk replied as he took the container, “just to see if your food is as horrible as you claim.”

“One day, I will,” Kara replied with a smirk, “and you will plead for mercy in three bites.”

“When that day comes, you’d better put your credits on the table.  I can eat anything.”

“But will you enjoy it,” Kara replied.  She slid her food into the preservation unit and shut it firmly.  “I’m going to take a walk before I eat. Make sure everything’s where it’s supposed to be.”

“You and your walks, it’s not like glass beakers and refrigeration units are going anywhere.”  Benk said.

“The day that those things grow legs and walk away, I will not say I told you so,” Kara said, “but I will gloat a little when I get those fifty credits from you.”

“Fifty?”  Benk repeated.

“Two to one odds,” Kara said with a chuckle as she headed back out. 

The walk through Umi was quiet at first, allowing Kara to adopt a breathing routine more suited to meditation than for high periods of exercise, intending to let herself fall into a trance of sorts as she walked, the better to smooth out her thoughts and prepare for the next steps in her ongoing plan.

Her plan did not involve seeing people in one of the storage bays.  Before she could hit the alarm or call out, the wall between Umi and Hallen exploded.  Kara ducked back, then looked in long enough to see enough through the smoke to see several stasis tubes.  Then she turned and ran towards the security office, hitting the alarm as she passed.

She made it almost halfway back before the closing doors became too small for her to move through and she was forced to stop.

Then she became aware of her work-comm sounding off, “Whitesand, please tell me you’re not dead yet,” Benk said.

“Not yet,” Kara replied as she panted.  “Damn thieves blew the wall between us and the neighbors.  I’m caught in one of the evac points, of course.”

“We’ll get you out soon,” Benk said.

“Hurry please,” Kara said, making her voice shake, “I- I really don’t like this.”

“Just stay calm, Silver,” Benk said.  “It’s all going to be okay.”

Kara let a little whimper slip out and slid down to the ground.

“Whitesand?”  Benk said, “Silver?”

“It’s, I’m okay,” Kara said.  “Just hurry.”

That done, Kara cut the connection and studied her position.  She’d made her goal, a space between two bulkheads that had been damaged in a recent accident, which meant she would be hidden from the cameras and that gave her access to the vent system that would give her the answer to her most important question.  There above her was the ventilation shaft that would serve as her escape point.  She popped the vent open and scrambled inside as quietly as she could.  Then she crawled back to the storage bay the explosion had occurred in, positioning herself where she could see inside the hole now that the smoke had cleared.

The stasis pods were active, but someone had wiped the faces, as if looking for something.  Kara pulled a small set of macrobinoculars from her vest and studied the cleared spots.  It took her a moment to confirm, and she used her macrobinoculars to take several pictures.

Then she hid the macrobinoculars and returned to her previous location.  Perhaps it wouldn’t be a surprise for her to quit after this, even if it wasn’t the original plan.


End file.
